Electrical Designer

Job Title: Electrical Designer Job Description
The Electrical Designer develops detailed electrical system designs for complex industrial facilities, focusing on power distribution, lighting, fire alarm, and communication systems. This role creates high-quality design and detail drawings, supports discipline leads, and collaborates closely with engineers and drafters to deliver complete installation drawing packages. The Electrical Designer manages project documentation, interacts with clients to convey design intent and scope changes, and helps drive consistency, quality, and innovation in electrical design standards within a fast-paced, multi-disciplinary environment.
Responsibilities
- Develop electrical system designs for power distribution, lighting, fire alarm, and communication systems for heavy industrial projects.
- Generate design and detail drawings, including plans, sections, and isometrics, to support discipline leads and project teams.
- Create physical layout drawings for equipment, conduit routing, cable tray routing, grounding, and cable schedules, with a strong focus on Revit-based cable tray and conduit routing.
- Produce wiring diagrams from electrical schematics to support construction and installation activities.
- Collaborate with engineers, drafters, and other disciplines to produce complete and coordinated drawing installation packages.
- Manage and maintain project documentation, including flat files, reference and stick files, and CAD drawings, ensuring accuracy and organization.
- Estimate work hours and assist in developing scopes of work for select single-discipline projects, while maintaining quality processes and standards.
- Work with engineers on multiple concurrent projects to manage project hours and coordinate with other departments and suppliers to obtain necessary technical information.
- Interact with clients to explain project designs, gather feedback, and identify and communicate scope changes in a professional manner.
- Produce high-quality electronic documentation and design packages that meet project requirements and industry standards.
- Support advanced facility projects from concept through delivery, ensuring technical excellence and attention to detail.
- Help drive consistency, quality, and innovation in electrical design standards and workflows across the organization.
- Collaborate with project teams in a fast-paced, multi-disciplinary environment, contributing to a highly collaborative and team-oriented culture.
- Present design concepts and deliverables clearly and confidently, working independently without needing to perform engineering calculations.
Essential Skills
- Associate degree in a technical discipline or equivalent related experience.
- At least 5 years of drafting experience using Revit MEP in a consulting engineering or similar environment.
- Hands-on electrical design experience within heavy industrial sectors such as chemical plants, refineries, food and beverage facilities, agriculture, and pharmaceutical environments.
- Strong proficiency in electrical design using Revit and Revit MEP, including cable tray and conduit routing.
- Experience with AutoCAD and AutoCAD Electrical for creating and modifying electrical drawings.
- Ability to develop designs for lighting, grounding, and cabling in complex industrial facilities.
- Working knowledge of the National Electrical Code and relevant reference documents and industry guides.
- Ability to work independently, present design solutions clearly, and take ownership of assigned tasks without performing engineering calculations.
- Strong collaboration skills to work effectively with engineers, drafters, and multi-disciplinary project teams.
- Attention to detail and commitment to producing accurate, high-quality electronic documentation and design packages.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- Experience working in consulting engineering environments with heavy industrial project focus.
- Proficiency with Navisworks for model review and coordination.
- Laser scanning experience and familiarity with integrating scan data into design workflows.
- Experience using Bluebeam or similar tools for drawing review, markup, and collaboration.
- Background in projects involving large equipment in clean (pharma) or hazardous and potentially explosive environments.
- Understanding of instrumentation and controls environments and coordination with I&C teams.
- Ability to estimate work hours and contribute to scope of work development for single-discipline projects.
- Strong communication skills for interacting with clients, suppliers, and internal stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to thrive in a highly collaborative, team-oriented culture with multi-disciplinary coordination.
Work Environment
This role is based out of a Downers Grove, IL office within a full-service architecture, engineering, and construction management setting. The office houses approximately 100 employees and is unique in that all major disciplines are represented on-site, including architecture, mechanical, piping, processing, electrical and instrumentation & controls, project controls, and estimating. The electrical team consists of about 15 professionals across two departments, with 5–6 focused on electrical and 5–6 on instrumentation and controls.

The typical work arrangement is hybrid, with the team currently in the office three days per week (Tuesday through Thursday), and there is openness to additional flexibility based on individual needs. Fully remote arrangements within Illinois are possible for strong candidates, with occasional in-office presence for training, meetings, or project needs. There is an immediate preference for local talent who can regularly commute to the Downers Grove office.

Projects have a heavy industrial focus, supporting chemical plants, refineries, agriculture facilities, food and beverage clean spaces, and pharmaceutical industries. Many projects involve very large equipment in either clean or hazardous/explosive environments, requiring careful attention to safety and code compliance. Very light travel may be involved to job sites across the Midwest, typically 2–3 nights at a time, 1–2 times every few months, and this travel is not mandatory.

The culture is highly collaborative and team-oriented, with many long-tenured professionals and a strong emphasis on cross-departmental coordination. As a large firm with multiple offices across the country, decisions at the Downers Grove location are made quickly by local leadership, and team members are encouraged to share ideas and have their voices heard.
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Downers Grove, IL.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $30.00 - $60.00/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job
classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be
subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits
available for this temporary role may include the following:

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Workplace Type
This is a hybrid position in Downers Grove,IL.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Oct 1, 2026. About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without
regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability,
sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected
by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or
adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability,
please email [email protected] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance:
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the
city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants
with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector:
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a
condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law
shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):
We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process,
including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications
and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you
acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.